The First Inception
by Lobsters forever
Summary: Dom Cobb desperately seeks help to cure his misinformed wife, Mal. As he enters Paris to achieve help from Miles, he meets a young student who turns not only Paris upside down, but also his world. AU. PRE-FILM. Cobb/Ariadne. Chapter Two Up! PLEASE REVIEW.
1. Chapter 1

_**Authors Note:**_

_**A new Cobb/Ariadne story idea struck me this morning.**_

_**I felt the need to write this.**_

_**Please let me know in review if I should continue. **_

**Chapter One**

It had been ten days ever since they had awakened from their fifty years in Limbo and he, to his own surprise, had adjusted just fine. But his wife had not. It pained him immensely to see the woman he loves scorn his children, despise life and torture him. It was his entire fault, as well. He had committed an inception on his wife and now, she would never be the same ever again.

It was his inception that caused her to become a woman obsessed with a faux idea. Mal had become a woman trapped in her own distinct dimension; a woman who was an alien to Cobb, for she did not act like the woman he had fallen so deeply in love with.

_"These are not my children!" She had yelled at him during the first few days after they had awakened from their deep and brittle sleep. _

_He had stared at her in puzzlement and in wonder. Why did she still believe that her world was not real? The inception had followed them into their reality and he could tell that it was eating her alive. "Let me prove it to you!" She screamed, their beloved children covering their ears from both pitch and terror. _

_She had taken James into her hands then and held a knife to him. And he had yelled at her to stop. "These are our children, Mal!" He lunged towards her, his steps long as he shouted "Please, don't hurt him!" He pleaded with her for what seemed like hours and then she finally dropped the weapon, her eyes filled with dark tears. _

And that was why he was in Paris on this dark and cold winter night. He needed to help her and there was only one person that could do that; Miles.

As he walked up the University steps, his heart shook within his chest. Mile's wife was looking after Mal, down in the South of Paris. His children were with them as well; he just prayed to God that nothing horrible would happen to either of them. Mal was no longer stable enough to take care of their children and so he had asked for Satine to look after his children and Mal, while he was asking Miles personally more questions and resolutions.

His mouth was sour with desperation. He kept telling himself that '_she was going to get better' _and that '_she was still the same Mal_.' But she wasn't. The innocent French young woman with whom he had shared countless of romantic evenings with was fading away right before his eyes. She had lost herself in Limbo and he knew that he had to bring her back from that hell. He had no other choice but to try.

As he passed students down the halls, wearing their festive Santa Claus hats, he immediately felt warmer. As if the young men and women's laughter were being transformed into his own happiness. For the temporary momentum, he felt hope fill up both his mind and heart. Maybe coming to Paris for Miles' assistance was not such a bad idea after all?

He turned a large and gray stoned corner, his eyes immediately averting between two rather large corridors. His attention lurked upon the wooden plaque that had the words written, "Right, 415-460; Left, 401-413." He stared at the directions, eternally confused. Where the hell was Room 414? That was where Miles was expecting him.

He inhaled shortly, his blue pupils staring at the Left Corridor. His gut instinct was telling him that it was the correct pathway to choose. He took a few steps towards the left corridor, a young and petite brunette passed by him after leaving a classroom. Well, there was no shame in asking, right?

"Excuse me." He called out to her and she turned around to him, her eyes perking up at him as she waited for him to continue. "Do you know where Room 114 is?"

She smirked at the question, re-adjusting the vibrant red scarf around her neck firmly before she responded, with a bob of her head "Right behind you."

Cobb quickly adjusted himself to the door; it was a rather dark color. He chuckled shortly at his stupid mistake and said "Thank you," to the young girl.

She rolled her eyes for a second and lifted her medium sized black knapsack over her shoulders as she mentioned, "Who ever designed this building is beyond me." She smiled at him and lifted her mp3 player from her jean pocket. She fumbled with the earphones for a few moments before saying "Well, Happy Holidays." She smirked once again, a playful curve of her lips appearing on her mouth before she left the hallway.

"Merry Christmas." He shouted after her before his eyes found the secret door once again. She was right about one thing though; it really was an odd architectural choice of design for a University. Mysterious doors? Grande corridors? What next, Dumbledore's office at the end of the hallway?

He fumbled with the door handle moments later, inhaling and wishing that by the end of this conversation, that Mal would somehow be cured. "Ariadne, you left your-" Miles smiled politely at Domenic, his sentence cutting short by the grown man in hindsight. "Dom, what a pleasant surprise."

"As it always is, Miles." He smiled lightly at the gray haired man and walked down the steps, towards the light auburn desk he was sitting at.

He removed his glasses, his right hand dropping a red marking pen as he asked, "I assume your not here to help me grade papers." Cobb shook his head at the question and listened as Miles continued, "What's on your mind, Dom?"

"Mal." He replied, his bottom teeth biting down on his tongue. "She hasn't been acting like-"

"Domenic-" Miles sighed, his voice tense as he continued, "It is still very fresh. She will wake up one day. I promise you." He nodded his head sincerely, life filling up his light eyes.

Cobb's blue eyes narrowed as he spoke in a soft murmur "She tried to kill James."

Miles sat in his chair dumbfounded, his heart rate quickening at the notion. "When did this happen?"

"Three days after we woke up. I don't know what to do anymore. I am scared for my family, Miles." He held his breath, his eyes glowing with a ghostly fog as he waited patiently for a response from the Professor.

"Come back tomorrow, Dom." He nodded slowly, his knuckles tightening as he spoke in a low but calm tone "I will find the number for a good physiatrist by then-"

"Is that really necessary?" His voice was pained. It was his entire fault that his wife was acting this way. He should be the one seeing a specialist.

Miles closed his eyes as he spoke "She is my daughter, Dom. I want only the best for her."

"Miles, I think I left my sweater-" a young woman's voice cracked through the entrance, as she opened the heavy door. She grinned softly as her cheeks turned a light shade of pink "I'm sorry to interrupt."

She walked down the stairs as she saw Miles point to the front of his desk, her red sweater resting there next to a few Architectural books. She smiled at the familiar man in front of her and she commented, "You found the classroom."

Domenic Cobb nodded, his arms crossing across his chest as she came closer to the two men in the room. "Yes, thank you."

Miles smirked, his hands placing his reading glasses back over his eyes as he stated "Ariadne is my best first year student."

Dom turned his eyes to hers and asked, "You're an architect?"

She nodded, a beaming smile forming upon her lips "Some day, I hope."

Miles nodded and continued his introduction "I think she has great potential." Miles chuckled, his eyes ripping towards his son-in-law "She might become better than you one day."

Ariadne's eyebrows perked upward at the man's occupation. 'You're an architect?"

"Something like that." He replied back honestly. He was still technically an architect; a dream artist. He had always loved the art of extracting; he was very good at it. But Mal was their extractor; his thoughts immediately darkened at the idea of her. She was changing so quickly, it was terrifying.

Ariadne nodded slowly, her brown eyes finding his blue ones as she asked, "I have some blueprints- do you think you could maybe look them over?" She did not want to impose anything, but it was rare to meet a real architect other than Miles.

"Is this for the final examination, Ariadne?" Miles inquired, his soft face glowing with impish excitement. Miss Ariadne was a rare breed of student. She was always one of his favorites to converse with.

She nodded, her eyes lurking back to the younger and more handsome man near her "Yes. I was going to try and contact another architect but if you wouldn't mind-"

Domenic Cobb cut her off with a weak grin "I'll be more than happy to." He was being truthful. He needed some architectural stimulation for his brain. Real blue prints made with real paper and real pencils.

"Would you mind meeting me at the School Café in about an hour then?" She asked, truly happy with his answer. She wanted her final examination to be perfect. And she could sense that she could trust this blue-eyed stranger. After all, he was a friend of her favorite Professor.

He nodded his head to her and uncrossed his arms while extending his hand to her, "I'm Domenic Cobb."

She shook his hand firmly, her eyes sparkling as she answered his handshake "It's nice to meet you, Domenic."

_**Authors Note:**_

_**Did you enjoy it so far? I hope so.**_

_**Merry Christmas everyone! **_

_**Please Review. **_

_**Thank you. **_


	2. Chapter 2

_**Authors Note:**_

_**For last chapter, I got some very great belated Christmas Presents.**_

_**Thank you for all the amazing reviews.**_

_**I really hope that you enjoy this chapter. **_

_**Thank you once again.**_

**Chapter Two**

Domenic Cobb's eyes wandered around the Students Dining Hall. It was rather large he determined, as his eyes clouded in a puff of confusion. Once again, he had no idea where the hell he was going. He seemed lost and he could tell, that by the looks of it, he was going to be late to meet the petite brunette student named- well, he could not quite remember her name. It was one that was truly unfamiliar to him; something out of a Greek Myth or Fable, or of the sort.

He turned on his heel towards a sign that read 'Café Blanc' and headed towards the room that it was supposed to situated in. He supposed that that was the café that Ar-, that the young architect was speaking about.

"Do you need some help?" A friendly voice asked from behind him and as he turned, he saw the familiar face that he was supposed to be meeting. He observed her inquisitive and curious nature as she held onto a large book bag on her left shoulder. It would seem that she was going to take full advantage of him and his architectural skills. Not that he minded of course, but he did need to get home to his wife and his children.

He chuckled lightly and replied, "Was I, at least, going in the right direction?" He pointed to the Café towards their right and she nodded, her feet beginning to move towards the mini-diner. He followed her slowly, watching that large brown book bag drag down her left shoulder. Hmm…perhaps he was going to be there all night.

As soon as they found an empty table, she let the book bag fall off her shoulders and she sat down, almost desperately on one of the wooden chairs. A few small pants of weariness fell from her lips as she watched him sit down on the chair that was across from her. "So-" she smiled, grabbing the white paper and yellow pencil that was in the middle of the table "What can I get you?"

"A glass of water, maybe?" He asked, shrugging the question off as he looked at the watch upon his wrist. It was 6:47 pm. Mal was definitely going to question where he had been all day.

She smiled as she observed his tense left hand, his wedding band sparkling brightly in the light of the café. She chuckled internally, her fingers writing as her voice muttered, "Okay, two iced cappuccinos."

"Just a water is fine." Cobb spoke to the stubborn young girl in front of him.

She nodded once, her eyebrows quirking upward as she tilted her head slowly to one side and answered his request "You see normally, that would be fine. But since we are at 'Café Blanc' and they happen to make the best white chocolate cappuccinos' on this planet, I suggest that you have one and forget about the glass of water."

His eyebrows perked up at her determination. He liked that she was so precise and so direct with him. No one had ever been that calm and yet collective with him in a long time. Plus, the fact that they were 'white' chocolate also worked in her favor. He loved white chocolate with all his heart. Well, who didn't really? He watched her, seconds later, give the piece of paper to a young waiter who grabbed the sheet in one swift motion, almost ripping it in half.

"So, you're the infamous Domenic Cobb huh?" She asked, taking out a large black binder from her book bag.

He almost scoffed at her question but decided to state instead "Infamous? Well, Miles sometimes really exaggerates my abilities."

She nodded once and opened her black and full binder, her voice small and honest "I really hope not." She smirked at him as she turned to page. 24 in the binder. "How much do you know about elevators?"

He thought for a second, the concept looping in his mind before he admitted "Not too much. But I could still give it a look." She smiled politely at the man as she pushed her book towards him.

He sighed softly, slightly in awe at her work. She really did know what she was doing. He turned the page, seeing designs of bridges and of buildings of all different shapes and sizes fill the papers before his eyes. The few blueprints that he observed blew him away. They were all neatly organized and precise down to a T.

His eyes lifted off the pages and to the young woman in front of him, who seemed to be enjoying the recently brought iced cappuccino. She smiled for a moment and admitted, "Some of them were very rushed. I only finished that bridge yesterday."

He looked down at the drawing of the bridge, a familiarity striking his eyes. But he lifted his blue pupils back to her moments later and asked "I'm sorry, how old are you?"

Her eyes widened at the question as her hands wrapped around the cold mug. She twirled the blue straw between her fingers before she replied, "I'm almost twenty."

"First year, right." Domenic muttered, his voice low in disbelief. He had never seen someone at her age so advanced. The possibilities that she could create in dream sharing would be unbelievable. At nineteen, this young woman had the entire world at her fingertips, literally. It was odd and hard to concentrate on anything but the fact that she was so good but yet so young.

She pushed his iced cappuccino towards him and said "Please." He just nodded in return and took a sip of the drink. He relished in the taste of it for a moment and then wandered how in about twenty seconds this young woman was able to make him forgot about all the problems he was supposed to be constantly thinking about.

"Any suggestions?" she asked, her voice flat but full with true interest. The man in front of her was a real mystery. She had heard many stories about him from Miles, but to actually meet him was truly diverse. He was much more handsome than she had imagined, then again quite vastly more peculiar.

He placed the mug down back onto the wooden table and swallowed down the sweet coffee with a quick movement of his tongue. "Well, I-" and before he could continue saying anything, 'Non Je Ne Regrette Rein' by Edif Piaf started playing from his pant pocket. He whispered, "Excuse me" to the young lady in front of him and placed the cell phone to his ear.

"Hello?" He asked into the phone, waiting patiently for a reply.

"_Dom, where are you?" _

He smiled as he recognized his wife soft and feminine voice "Honey, how are you feeling?"

"_Dom, I need you to come home." _

"I will really soon, alright? I am just having a coffee with one of Miles' students."

"_Do you actually believe that?"_

He held the phone to his ear, his smile immediately disappearing off his face as he asked, "I'm sorry?"

"_These people- here, Dom. They are all projections. You are alone. Come home so that we can go to our real home, together."_

He gulped as he listened to her speak. A ton of guilt re-surfacing against the barrel of his throat. "Mal, honey. I am coming home right now. Okay? Don't do anything while I'm not there." He paused and looked over at Ariadne- he finally remembered her name- and sighed while saying, "Promise me."

"_I promise."_ And then the dial tone was all that he could hear.

Domenic Cobb put his cell phone back into his pocket and then took out a few Euros while apologizing "I'm sorry. But I have to leave."

"The wife waiting for you at home?" Ariadne asked, her lips pursing as she took another sip of her drink.

He nodded at her once and lifted himself up from the wooden chair. He pointed towards the black binder quickly and stated honestly "I think you'll do just fine of the final. I really wouldn't worry about it."

He took another sip from his mug, the white chocolate hitting his taste buds in all the right areas. She smiled at the compliment and uttered through a small shrug "I'm thinking about handing in the bridge design."

He nodded, pursing his lips as he spoke quietly to her "It seems really familiar to me."

"I pass one like it everyday to get to the College." She smiled, standing up herself and placing a few more Euros on the wooden table in front of her. "Except on that one the-"

"-the shade is slightly darker." He muttered, watching her quite carefully. "I have a design like it with me in my portfolio at home."

Ariande's brown eyes strengthened. "I would love to see that." She admitted, her voice distant as she picked up her brown bag. She honestly wished she could have more time with this man. He seemed interesting to her and she was truly intrigued by his knowledge.

He thought for a second very deeply. He nodded at her soon after, a smirk playing on his lips while he motioned with his hand "Well, lets go then."

"I'm sorry?" She asked, her eyebrows perking up at his sentence.

Domenic Cobb smiled at her while he elaborated, "I want to show you." He motioned with his hands the exit of the café and she shrugged her shoulders, muttering something about how she has no plans anyway. And he laughed at that. It was the first time in a long time that he actually laughed.

He really liked this young and incredibly intelligent woman. Hopefully, Mal would too.

_**Authors Note:**_

_**When I wrote the last line, I literally burst out laughing. I am very excited to write the next chapter. **_

_**I hope you liked this one. **_

_**Please Review!**_


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